Rabbi Elie Lemmel says he was attacked twice in a week, most recently hit with a chair in Neuilly-sur-Seine. This follows another assault in Deauville and comes amidst a broader rise in hate crimes in France.
A French rabbi said on Friday he has been attacked twice within a single week, incidents he believes are linked to a broader surge in hate crimes across France, including a notable increase in antisemitic assaults.
Rabbi Elie Lemmel informed Reuters that he was assailed on Friday while seated at a cafe in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a Paris suburb. He described being struck in the head by a chair, stating, “I found myself on the ground, I immediately felt blood flowing.” Lemmel initially believed something had fallen, but then realized he had been deliberately attacked.
He commented, “Unfortunately, given my beard and my kippah, I suspected that was probably why, and it’s such a shame.”
This assault follows another incident last week in Deauville, Normandy, where Rabbi Lemmel stated he was punched in the stomach by an unidentified assailant. While Lemmel noted he is accustomed to “not-so-friendly looks, some unpleasant words, people passing by, spitting on the ground,” he clarified that he had never experienced physical assaults prior to these two attacks.
The prosecutor’s office in Nanterre has initiated an investigation into the Neuilly attack, classifying it as aggravated violence. One individual is currently being held for questioning in connection with the incident, according to Reuters.
The attacks have drawn strong condemnation from French political figures. Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed Friday’s incident involving Rabbi Lemmel on X, stating, “This act sickens us. Antisemitism, like all forms of hatred, is a deadly poison for our society.”
The attacks come amid a sharp rise in antisemitism in France. According to testimonies brought forward during a Knesset discussion last week, antisemitic incidents in France have surged by a whopping 185%.
Just last week, four sites connected to the Jewish community were vandalized in the Marais district of central Paris.
The sites included a Holocaust memorial, the Tournelles Synagogue, the “Chez Marianne” restaurant, and the Agoudath HaKehilot Synagogue; all were defaced with green paint.
Last month, a 70-year-old Jewish man was brutally attacked in the town of Anduze, near Alès in France.
The elderly man, wearing a kippah and tzitzit, was feeding cats in the street when a drunk man approached him, demanding money. When the victim refused, the attacker punched and kicked him, while calling him a “dirty Jew” repeatedly, eyewitnesses said.
Earlier this year, Rabbi Arié Engelberg of Orléans in France was violently attacked in front of his nine-year-old son, as the two were returning from the synagogue.A French rabbi said on Friday he has been attacked twice within a single week, incidents he believes are linked to a broader surge in hate crimes across France, including a notable increase in antisemitic assaults.
Rabbi Elie Lemmel informed Reuters that he was assailed on Friday while seated at a cafe in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a Paris suburb. He described being struck in the head by a chair, stating, “I found myself on the ground, I immediately felt blood flowing.” Lemmel initially believed something had fallen, but then realized he had been deliberately attacked.
He commented, “Unfortunately, given my beard and my kippah, I suspected that was probably why, and it’s such a shame.”
This assault follows another incident last week in Deauville, Normandy, where Rabbi Lemmel stated he was punched in the stomach by an unidentified assailant. While Lemmel noted he is accustomed to “not-so-friendly looks, some unpleasant words, people passing by, spitting on the ground,” he clarified that he had never experienced physical assaults prior to these two attacks.
The prosecutor’s office in Nanterre has initiated an investigation into the Neuilly attack, classifying it as aggravated violence. One individual is currently being held for questioning in connection with the incident, according to Reuters.
The attacks have drawn strong condemnation from French political figures. Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed Friday’s incident involving Rabbi Lemmel on X, stating, “This act sickens us. Antisemitism, like all forms of hatred, is a deadly poison for our society.”
The attacks come amid a sharp rise in antisemitism in France. According to testimonies brought forward during a Knesset discussion last week, antisemitic incidents in France have surged by a whopping 185%.
Just last week, four sites connected to the Jewish community were vandalized in the Marais district of central Paris.
The sites included a Holocaust memorial, the Tournelles Synagogue, the “Chez Marianne” restaurant, and the Agoudath HaKehilot Synagogue; all were defaced with green paint.
Last month, a 70-year-old Jewish man was brutally attacked in the town of Anduze, near Alès in France.
The elderly man, wearing a kippah and tzitzit, was feeding cats in the street when a drunk man approached him, demanding money. When the victim refused, the attacker punched and kicked him, while calling him a “dirty Jew” repeatedly, eyewitnesses said.
Earlier this year, Rabbi Arié Engelberg of Orléans in France was violently attacked in front of his nine-year-old son, as the two were returning from the synagogue.
After the incident, a complaint was filed with the police. The assailant, a 16-year-old male with no criminal record, was subsequently arrested and taken into custody.
Official data released in March indicated an 11% rise in racist, xenophobic, or antireligious crimes recorded by police in France last year. These figures did not include a specific breakdown of attacks targeting different religious groups.
